In the victorian times when people
got mugged they didn't bother going to the police because everyone thought
they were useless .
Lots of policemen were sacked for being drunk on duty !
Lots of policemen were sacked for being drunk on duty !
The police
were in fact bought in to the world just before the Victorian times, they
started in 1829. Sir Robert Peal started the police force but in victorian
times they were called "Pealers" or "Bobbies".
Back in Victorian
times the police had a problem with one terrible suspect, Jack the Ripper
the most mysterious criminal in the whole of London.
He killed 5 women and was never caught.
Everyone
knows that the police try to protect the citizens of the world but in
Victorian times it was mainly the rich who lived in the West End of London
that they would protect. No one cared much about the people who lived
in the slums in the East End.
The police
had wistles to call other police to come and help them catch the criminals
because they did not have radio.
They worked from 9pm to 6am or 6am to 9pm.
They worked from 9pm to 6am or 6am to 9pm.
The london
area was divided up into districts, sections and beats.The new police
force number was just over 1,000 men in 1829. It included eight superintendents,
20 inspecters, 88 sergeants and 895 constables.
There
was more police in the East End then the West End because there was more
crime!
Lots of the
policemen quit. Out of the 3,000 police men who had joined the force by
1830 only 600 were still police officers when Queen Victoria was crowned
in 1836.
Peelers men dealt with
crimes like dogs being stolen, runway apprentices and Furious Drivers.
They would also try and catch pickpockets.
Even quite a poor family would spend 80p a week
on the food they needed to survive.
As well as this they would have to pay rent and buy
things like coal.
It would have cost about £2 a week for a family to live.
Ordinary policemen got paid really badly.
They got
paid only 15p a day or just over £1 a week.